I use them mostly with a mallet for chopping dovetails and pruning/tuning/notching various stuff on-site in my carpentry.

I want to avoid the hassle of leather-tipped ends or brass hoops and this kind of stuff. So I’m wondering if you guys think Bubinga would be a decent choice for a handle that will be directly hit with the mallet and hold up awhile? I have some kicking around.

Thanks.

13 replies so far

This one has lasted me a few years. It’s been used with a small wooden mallet and a BIG leather mallet and the end is about as smooth as the day it came off the lathe. It’s not a mortise chisel though so if you’re looking for something you can bang on with a 10 pound sledgehammer I can’t guarantee the same longevity.

Ben, I have some chisels with bubinga handles that have held up quite well. I just finished all the chopping (after fret sawing) on a 7/8 thick case that had 16 tails. All with one of those chisels. Brass hammer. No problems with the handle whatsoever. I think a lot though has to do with the end of the chisel and how the end is shaped, mine are shaped similar to Joe’s. Think about what the face of the hammer will be hitting as it makes impact.

A little is the key. I think your average epoxy softens at 150 degrees F or something. Go too hot and you’re risking having that heat go down to the working end to mess with the steel’s temper. Go easy with a heat gun or dip in heated mineral oil.

Derek Cohen has an excellent write up on making replacement handles for socket chisels. It is located about 1/2 down on this page: In the Woodshop.

My lathe skills (and edge tools) basically suck, but I was able to get nearly a perfect fit the first time. His trick is to use a drill bit to assist in measuring the inside bottom diameter, as well as the depth. The top diameter can easily be measured with a calipers or a ruler in a pinch.

Someday, I will get proficient enough to actually be able to make useful, attractive and comfortable handles, not the stubs I created the first time.

Thanks Guys.I actually found the taper for the socket the easiest part. I measured depth with my thumb on a pencil, transferred that to the blank. Calipers set to the large diameter, turn down to that, eyeball a taper. Take the piece on and off and twist it on the socket to make reference “smudges.” Then turn away the high spots. Real easy.

I’ve done lots of turning of much more complex looking stuff and actually find it to be easier because there are “fillets” or transition flat spots. With these it’s just one long shape, nowhere to really “connect the dots” as it were.